Ray Backstrom joined the Marine Corps in 1972 and retired from the Marine Corps in 1992, and has completed his bachelors and masters degrees in cartography at the University of Montana. He is currently working as a cartographer for the federal government. This work is a byproduct of his thesis which used the battle of Iwo Jima as a model to demonstrate the usefulness of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a means of distributing historic battlefield information.
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Rolled Iwo Jima Map * $10
The Iwo Jima Map This map is 24x36 inches at a scale of 1:12000. It depicts Iwo Jima as it was on 19 February, 1945 with the Japanese defenses that were acquired from a ground study conducted as the battle progressed, supplemented by other sources. It contains the front lines as they were consolidated on the night of D-Day, showing the location of the units involved in the initial landings.
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Folded Iwo Jima Map * $10
(same as above, but folded instead of rolled)
Iwo Jima Visitors Map * $10
The Iwo Jima visitors map was designed for visitors going to Iwo Jima, either with Military Historical Tours or one of the trips taken to Iwo Jima by members of the 3rd Marine Division. It is 13x16.75 inches and folds down to fit in a shirt pocket. This map is two sided, it shows Iwo Jima as it was in 1994 overlaid with the Japanese defenses and the front lines with unit locations for 19 Feb (D-Day, 28 Feb and 15 March 1945). One side of the map has the original grid reference system used during the battle, the other has a UTM grid comapatible with gps systems for navigation.
The Assalt of Iwo Jima CD-ROM * $20
The information presented in this CD-ROM is the battle of Iwo Jima in the words of those who were tasked with documenting the battle as it progressed. It uses over 1800 web pages, 1400+ images, 87 maps and 41 PDF text documents bring to you the battle as it was fought. It contains both new maps and images of some of the original maps produced during and after the battle. With these maps you can follow the progress of the battle from D-Day (19 February, 1945 through D + 35 (26 March, 1945). The daily maps document the progress of the front lines, and details where individual units were each day of the battle. Included are the summaries of each days fighting for all three divisions, eight regiments, and twenty-four infantry battalions, along with photos from many published reports, all 27 Medal of Honor citations and four electronic books on the battle of Iwo Jima. This is a must have for anyone interested in military history, researching the battle of Iwo Jima, or researching that part of their life a family member either never talked about before their death, or will still not talk about.
The 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima CD-ROM * $20
This is intended to supplement 'The Assault of Iwo Jima' CD-ROM. While there is a little overlap of information, it presents the battle for Iwo Jima as conducted by the 5th Marine Division. The CD-ROM contains 1800 pages of after action reports produced by the 5th Marine Division to document their assault of the island. The reports are in PDF format and are built from the actual scanned reports. These reports document everything from their acivation at Camp Pendleton to their departure from Iwo Jima on 25 March, 1945.
CD-ROM and map combinations * $25/each
For a detailed understanding this historic battle The Assault of Iwo Jima CD-ROM and Iwo Jima map combination will give you a detailed look of all aspects of the fighting that took place on this island only 750 miles from mainland Japan. This was the Americans first assault on land that was considered the traditional homeland of Japan.
For a more detailed view of the 5th Marine Divisions assault on Iwo Jima the 5th Marine Division on
Iwo Jima CD-ROM and Iwo Jima map will give you all the details of every aspect of the 5th Marine Divsion's assault on Iwo Jima.
